


The Transphobia

by Puregold



Category: The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, Educational??/ I guess, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Happy Ending, Humor, I Don't Even Know, I tried not to make it too angsty but you honestly cant have transphobia w/o angst :/, Misgendering, Trans Gumball, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, Typical Episode Format, also the characters arent necessarily anthropomorphic, but if u wanna see um that way thats fine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-01 10:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13292577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puregold/pseuds/Puregold
Summary: Elmore Junior High hires a woman from out-of-town as the new nurse! Whatever, seems normal enough, right? Well so Gumball thought, that is until she outs him to the entire school.





	1. The Outting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trans and I wanted 2 write this lol hope ya like
> 
> DISCLAIMER: None of the students at elmore jr. high are transphobic, some are just unaware and ignorant!!! I wrote this fic with the intention to teach, kinda.
> 
> The only character I made transphobic was egg mom because lets be real here she lowkey would be LOL

"-And that's why I think that, in a fight, Tina would definitely win against Jamie." Says Darwin, chatting with me beside our lockers before school starts.

Penny giggles, turning the corner to join us. "Why would they fight when they're in love?"

"Plot twist!" I shout, before greeting Penny with a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh. Hi, Penny." Greets Darwin with a chipper attitude.

"So, what do you two think of the new school nurse?" Penny asks, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Her? Oh, I dunno. I mean, I saw her wheel off Alan on a gurney last week when Carmen popped him during P.E., so I guess she's not... Bad." I say, unaware of what to make of her.

Penny laughs, before adding. "Hey, Gumball, have you done anything to, uh... Upset her, since she got here?"

"What? No, not that I'm aware. Why?" I ask.

"Well don't look now dude but she's definitely glaring at you." Says Darwin.

Ignoring his advice, I look over my shoulder to see the new nurse, a 2-D rubber-hose animation of a teapot (unless youre reading the characters as anthropomorphic, in which case she is a large white woman with like teapot earrings idk), glaring at me from inside her office. Once I look her way though, she just turns back to her paperwork as if nothing happened.

"I said don't look now!" Whisper-shouts Darwin, clearly embarrassed and annoyed that I so blatantly ignored him.

"Sorry, dude, but you can't expect me to just 'not look' after saying don't look! That'd be like if you asked cavemen to just 'look away' when a dinosaur is sizing up their next meal."

"I guess that checks out since you compared yourself to a caveman." Quips Darwin. We then both share a chuckle at my expenses.

"Anyway, what were we talking about?" I ask, blanking out for a second.

Penny giggles. "The school nurse."

"Oh, right!" I say, a light bulb going off in my head. "Aw, man, what did I do _this_ time?" I wonder. When half the staff already has a vendetta against me, it's best not to make any new enemies. Especially when I don't even know _why!_

The bell rings, signalling our dismissal to class, and the three of us head to Mrs. Simians while I mentally go over the last couple weeks since the nurse has been here.

 

After my first class, history with Mrs. Simian (she's the best teacher for it, seeing as how she's old enough to have been a first-hand witness!), I have health with Mr. Small, but between classes I like to take a quick bathroom break.

What I am not expecting, however, is for the new school nurse to be standing guard beside the door to the boy's bathroom. _Okay, that's kinda weird,_ I think, but as I turn the handle to open the door; the nurse slams it back shut!

"Excuse me, little miss." She says. "But there are no _girls_ allowed in the boy's bathroom."

"What the _what!?"_ I shout in disbelief. What is she even talking about!? "Now listen lady, I don't know who you think you are, but I am _not_ a girl! And I can _definitely_ use the boy's bathroom whenever I want!"

She seems shocked that I would even _dare_ to take that tone with her, before countering with, "First of all, my name is not _lady_ , it's Mrs. Taylor. And secondly, I went over your files several times this morning and it definitely said that you were born a _lady_ , so you better start acting like one!"

The shock and realization hits me like a train as I stand outside the bathroom door. I've been living as a boy for so long that even _I_ forget that I'm transgender sometimes. On my good days, anyway. Even worse is that I've rarely had anybody question my gender (mostly because they just take my word for it), so I've never had to really think about this situation before.

Tobias's inquiry snaps me back to reality as he comes out of the bathroom. "Wait, Gumball's a girl?"

"What? No I'm not!" I feel my face grow hot. "I'm not!" I scream-shout, voice cracking.

I feel my heart pounding through my chest, looking around to realize that there are a few small groups of people whispering among themselves, with the words 'Gumball' and 'girl' being thrown around like a couple of balls in a pachinko machine.

"You have a terrible attitude, young lady." Says Mrs. Taylor, and the word 'lady' feels like a stab in the chest as she says it. "Now come with me to the principals office."

"Don't call me that." I object, biting back tears.

"It's what you are. Now come on." She replies, cold and heartless as she escorts me to Principal Brown's office.

I keep my head down the whole walk there, humiliated beyond belief, wishing that I could just curl up and disappear on the spot. The longer that I'm allowed to stew, the worse I start to feel about myself.

It starts with my hips. They feel too round and bulbous and I start walking funny in an attempt to _hide_ them. Then it's my face, and my body. I look way too feminine and girly, how did anyone ever believe me when I told them that I was a boy? And, my _voice_ is too high-pitched, and yeah it's lower than Darwin's but it's _still_ too girly. In fact all l had to do was put on a dress and the entire town thought that I was a girl, even my own _dad and brother_.

But it's not like any of that matters anyway. After today, nobody will believe I'm a boy anymore. And that's the thought that sends me over the edge, and I begin bawling just as we get to Principal Brown's office.

Mrs. Taylor doesn't care, instead hurrying me inside before we sit across from Principal Brown. He seems shocked to see me enter with the school nurse. Not because I'm in his office, that happens far too often for either of our liking, but because I'm sobbing and not out of guilt or pain, and it's not me fake-crying to guilt him into something. It's just me, openly crying in front of him despite my not wanting to, with shame, humiliation and hurt a defining feature in my eyes.

"Uhhh... And what seems to be the problem here, Mrs. Taylor?" Asks Principal Brown, trying his best to be professional.

"I caught this young lady trying to use the boys bathroom." She says, sounding proud and triumphant in her capture.

Principal Brown looks visibly confused as he looks to me, then to Mrs. Taylor, and back to me. I try my best to choke back my tears, giving myself the hiccups as I do. God, I feel pathetic.

"I'm afraid I don't understand your wording here. You say that you caught Gumball, a _male_ student I've had here for a couple years now, trying to use the... Boys bathroom?"

She rolls her eyes, sounding disgusted when she speaks. "So you mean to tell me you've never looked at her files and just let her attend school here, in a P.E. class, taking _showers_ and _changing_ among male students?"

"Of course I've looked at his- her, uh, files before... It's just that I usually skim them since I already know most of the information on there. I'm sorry, what would you like me to do about this?" He asks, unsure of himself.

"Well, make her use the female bathroom and changing room, of course! And she must be getting in _some_ sort of trouble for tricking you and the rest of the faculty all these years, correct?" She says, almost demanding.

"Mrs. Taylor, this is a bit of a complicated situation. Its going to take some time for me to... Get everything sorted out. Now, I'd like a moment with Gumball in private." He asks, and she huffs before leaving the room.

Principal Brown fumbles with a ring of keys for a moment, before handing one to me. "Here. You can use the faculty bathroom for now. I'll write you a pass to class. I'm going to get this all sorted out and you're not going to be in any sort of trouble for this, Gumball."

To describe myself as shocked would be an understatement. I don't think I've seen Principal Brown this serious and kind since I've known him. I give him a simple nod and a 'thank you' before leaving his office and heading off to the bathroom.

After using the restroom and washing the residual tears from my face, I walk into Mr. Small's class. All eyes turn to me, the way they normally do when someone walks in late, but it just feels _off_ to me somehow.

I take my seat next to Darwin and try to forget that the morning even happened, zoning out and doodling in the maragins of my notebook paper as Mr. Small drones on about the health effects of smoking or something.

I feel Darwin tap my shoulder and look over to see a concerned expression on his face as he passes me a note. I take it, uncrinkling the paper and smoothing it out on my desk.

_"Hey, I heard the nurse got you in trouble this morning? What's that all about? And. Well, Alan says you were crying but he told me he wouldn't tell anybody."_

I cast a side-eyed glare at the back of Alan's head, but he of course seems blissfully unaware. I then write on the bottom half of the paper that Darwin gave me. _"The stupid nurse found out I was trans and literally yelled that I was a girl in the middle of the hallway and then she tried to get me in trouble with Principal Brown."_

Even writing about it brings back vivid, awful memories and feelings, and the note ends up littered with a couple tear stains before I hand it back to Darwin. Of course, since I'm pretty quiet about it, I quickly swipe at my eyes with the sleeve of my sweater and suck it up.

Darwin reads the note carefully, his eyes going over it a few times and his expression scrunched up in thought. We're brothers and best friends, closer than anyone, so of course he knows I'm trans. He's been more than helpful and loving to me getting through some particularly bad waves of dysphoria that I've had.

He eventually tucks the note into his pocket delicately, giving me a sympathetic look before reaching over and holding my hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out." He whispers.

I nod at him, before continuing to idly doodle, mentally checking in and out of the class at random intervals.

 

The first half of the day drones on and blurs together until it's time for lunch. I'd almost forgotten about the whole ordeal, joking with Darwin about the 'forbidden fruit' meme. We sit down at a table after grabbing our lunch, but my mood quickly turns back sour when Tobias comes over to ask a question.

"Sup Gumball. Hey Darwin." He says, before taking a pause to eat something in order to make himself appear more casual. "So what was the deal this morning? That new nurse sayin' you were a girl and then getting you in trouble. Are you... Actually a girl?"

I feel my face grow hot again despite my best intentions to hide my embarrassed blush. "No, I just- She"

"That old lady is blind as a bat and has no idea what in the world she's talkin' about." Says Darwin, cutting me off to glare daggers at Tobias. I've rarely seen my brother this serious and stern before.

Tobias smiles nervously before clearing his throat and quickly changing the subject. "So, uh, I had Banana Joe and Juke over yesterday, and I was about to try the tide pod challenge-"

And that is the second I turn to Darwin and look at him as if he's a camera on the office, and he does the same to me before we start giggling. My laughter is cut short, however, when I overhear people from a table over gossiping about this morning.

_"I don't know. I mean, I heard he was actually a girl or something? Or that the nurse thought he was a girl?"_

_"He seemed pretty upset about the whole thing so he's probably a girl."_

_"Well, I mean, anyone would be upset about that. What if someone called you a boy?"_

"I heard the nurse yelled at him in the middle of the hallway and showed everyone that it says 'girl' on his birth certificate and he cried!" I hear Clayton's voice above all the others, loud enough to echo through the halls.

Darwin noticed my ears flicking as I listened in to the quieter conversation, but once Clayton speaks my ears pull back sharply and I glare, trying to mask my anxiety and oncoming panic attack with anger.

Darwin immediately springs into action, standing and turning to Clayton before shouting. "HEY! Shut up about it! There were like nine people there at max and we all know that you're a notorious liar! If I hear ONE more thing outta your mouth about it..." Threatens Darwin ominously, prompting Clayton to quickly shut his mouth.

I'm blown away as he sits back down. Darwin is one of those people who you don't like to see genuinely angry, since it happens so rarely and he's such an easy-going pacifist. I flash him a grateful smile before we resume talking about more casual things.

 

Towards the end of lunch I remember that my next class is P.E., and my ears and tail shoot up in alarm. "Oh, crap! Darwin, you gotta hide me! I need a disguise or something..."

"Why?" He asks as we put up our empty trays and follow the sea of students down the hallway. "What's up?"

I lower my voice before continuing. "If she had a cow about me just using the bathroom, she's _totally_ gonna flip out if I try to change in the guy's room for P.E..."

"Uhh, okay." He whispers. "We'll just merge with the crowd, and you'll be on the side furthest from the nurse."

"Okay." I reply, swallowing my fear as I hunch down and try to make myself smaller in an attempt to hide.

Sure enough, the nurse is standing guard outside of the girl's and boy's changing rooms, eyes glaring over the crowd in an attempt to spot me. I press my ears down as flat as they'll go and move behind Hector. My heart beats in my chest and I'm afraid that that alone will give me away as I ease closer and closer to the changing room door. I think I'm almost in the clear, my feet seconds from passing the line, when I hear her shrill voice shriek over the crowd.

"A-ha!" She shouts triumphantly, pointing right at me before grabbing my wrist. "Found you!" She then tugs me back away from the door. "Into the lady's room with you!"

At this point almost all traffic has stopped, a small crowd forming to watch as I blush hotly and swallow, looking right at her. " _No._ " I say, my voice cracking. "I've been changing with boys almost all my life, and I-"

"You are a girl." She interrupts. "You were born a girl and you can try and change that all you want but you will _always_ be a girl and it is absolutely inappropriate for a young lady to change with _boys_."

"SHUT UP!" Shouts Penny, and I'm shocked to see her emerge from the girl's room, shape shifting into a large, red and angry medusa. "You are an awful, evil woman and it is NOT your place to out people or tell them what to do and who they can and can't be! It was Gumball's information to tell! Nobody knew! I didn't even know and I'm his girlfriend! But who cares? It's his choice to tell or not tell people about his gender identity and that's that!"

I can't help but smile as Penny stands up for me, followed shortly by Darwin. "Yeah! He's my brother and he'll always be my brother unless _he_ chooses otherwise!"

"Y'know what, I'm not gonna stand by quietly and watch this happen any longer." Says Teri, surprisingly, with her quiet voice. "I'm a transgender woman and I've been terrified of you all day since I saw what you did to Gumball! I'm certain that I might be sick right now and yet I've been too scared to go to the nurse because I was afraid I might be outed. Well guess what! You don't have any power over me now."

"Go Mrs. Taylor go! Go Mrs. Taylor go!" starts chanting Darwin, pumping his fist with the rhythm. Penny and Teri soon join, followed by me, and soon enough the rest of the students who were gathered around and watching.

Mrs. Taylor is so overwhelmed by the situation that she ends up shouting something about getting us all in trouble before storming off. Her leave is followed by cheers and I start to cry out of overwhelming happiness and support. Teri tears up as well, and I end up in a massive group hug led by Penny and Darwin.

"I thought I was gonna have to leave town and change my name!" I shout, laughing. "I thought you wouldn't love me anymore if you knew..." I say, smiling at Penny.

"Of course I would!" Objects Penny. "I'm pansexual and have done all kinds of gender studies! I feel so bad that you were outed like that, and I'm glad and happy to give you all the support you need right now."

"Uhh, I'm still a little... Confused." Says Tobias. "What's transgender?"

Penny and Leslie both take turns and are happy to fill in any unsure students about what it means to be transgender as we go back to our own changing rooms.


	2. The Plan

The rest of the school day goes off practically without a hitch. Terri and I both have personal student escorts any time we use the bathroom to scare the nurse off, and at one point Leslie said he heard the nurse complaining to Principal Brown through the door about student defiance! I _really_ hope that this all just stays within the school and that the nurse is quietly fired. I don't want the whole school to get in trouble if she stays, and I _definitely_ don't want news of my trans status to spread throughout Elmore! Who knows how people would react!

So, yeah. I basically try to push through the rest of the school day as usual, only occasionally letting myself worry, before getting on the bus ride home. I let out a sigh of relief as I step on the bus, visibly relaxing as I do. Darwin gives me a gentle pat on the back as we sit beside each other. "Today was pretty rough, huh?"

"Yeah. Probably the worst of them." I reply, partly talking about all the bad days I've had in the past, and partly talking about the bad days that are to come with this recent drama.

"Hey, it's all good! Everything will be back to normal before you know it, I'm sure. Let's just go home and play some video games so I can kick your butt at Mortal Kombat."

I laugh. "As if! I've been practicing Goro and at this point I'm pretty much a pro."

"Nothing competes with button mashing." He jokes back, and the two of us playfully banter the rest of the way home.

 

Darwin and I have barely sat down to start playing when Anais taps on over and pulls herself up on the couch beside me. "So, what's your plan?" She asks.

"What do you mean?" I reply, already apprehensive of the conversation as I turn on the Gameboy.

"That nurse was downright awful to you!" She says, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow. "At the very least she should get fired, and at the most we should run her out of Elmore! I mean, who knows how far she'll take this thing or how quickly it'll spread-"

I feel suddenly anxiety spike through me as I cover my ears and start shouting. "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!! LA LA LA LA LA!!!"

She rolls her eyes and sighs exasperatedly. "Gumball, I understand that this is anxiety and probably dysphoria-inducing, but you _do_ need to talk about this sometime! Preferably tonight. Have you told mom?"

My eyes go wide and my voice cracks. "What!? No! If I told mom she'd totally flip! That lady wouldn't make it outta this town alive."

"Maybe so." Replies Anais with a devious smile.

I scoff. "It's not like I wanna kill her! I just want her to quietly go away and no-one hear from her again!" I take a second to process my words before realizing. "Hm. Okay, that _does_ sound kind of dubious, but still! I just want her to leave Elmore before she outs me any further..." I sigh. "And, besides... Maybe she's right, and I am just a big liar who tricked everybody into-"

This time Anais cuts me off, shouting, "NO! You can't let her get to you like that, Gumball! It's nobodies business but your own to know about your trans status! Not even Penny's!"

I'm shocked at Anais's authoritative tone. "I mean..." I take a second to think, weighing Anais's and other's support against the nurses badgering, before replying. "You're right! She _is_ awful! But I'm still not gonna tell mom 'cause I don't want to experience her wrath!"

"She won't be angry at _you_ " Anais points out.

"Yeah, but _still_. I genuinely don't want the nurse dead, and if I tell mom, she _will_ kill her."

"No she won't!" Chimes in Darwin with his ever-present optimism.

Both Anais and I give him a look, before he caves and sighs. "Fair point."

"How about this," Says Anais, "Before telling mom, we make her promise to stay calm and not kill anybody. Deal?"

"Deal!" I reply, and Anais and I shake on it before I return to mindlessly playing video games.

"By the way, Gumball, _I_ didn't even really know about it until today. If that makes you feel better about, like, passing and stuff."

I'm shocked to hear that as I kick Darwin's butt in-game. "What? Seriously? How did you never notice!?"

"I had no real reason to question it! I grew up knowing you as my idiot big brother, and it hasn't changed a bit."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks." Although, it _does_ make me feel kinda better... After all, Anais is the smartest person I know, and my _sister_ , and she didn't know I was trans!

When dinner finally rolls around, I brace myself, composing my words before I open my mouth (which I rarely do).

"So how was school today, kids?" She asks nonchalantly, serving up dinner before sitting down.

"Oh, I dunno. How was work today, mom?" Anais and Darwin both facepalm, and mom drops her silverware and looks me dead in the eye.

"What happened?"

I break into a sweat. "W-what do you mean?"

"You're deflecting and you never deflect when I ask you how your days been, _especially_ not to ask about mine, so that means either you're in trounle or someone else is going to be."

I hesitate, before letting out a sigh and complying. "Okay, you got me there. Promise not to freak out?"

She glares. " _Gumball_ , I-"

"Promise?"

She takes a deep breath. "Yes."

"...The new school nurse found out I was trans and outted me to the school."

"She WHAT!?" My mom accusses, glare returning as she grips her fork and knife.

"That's not even the half of it, Mrs. Mom!" Darwin tattles, catching mom's attention as he continues. "She tried to stop Gumball from using the boys bathroom and changing room, too, and even pulled him into the principals office!"

Mom might as well have transformed into a demon as she stands so abruptly that her chair goes flying back, yelling so loud I start to hear my ears ring."THAT LITTLE WENCH HAS NO RIGHT DOING THAT TO MY BABY, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HER SHE'S GONNA WISH SHE COULD GO CRAWLING BACK IN THE WOMB-"

The rest of us just let her tire herself out as she screams threats, before she finally simmers down enough to sit. "I mean, really, the audacity!! She just shows up in a new town that she knows nothing abour and thinks she can just-"

"Hey, mom?" Anais starts. "I have a plan." And thats when the evening went from good to great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to come out- I was struggling with writers block & personal stuff. Anyways, enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> SPEAKING FROM FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE, being purposefully misgendered fucking SUCKS!!! it makes my skin crawl and makes me wanna jump out a window, so I hope I portrayed that accurately.
> 
> Anyways, hope u liked my fic in which I live an escapist fantasy where I get to pretend that real life is just as chill abt trans people as Elmore would be!!


End file.
